Electronic Cigarette and Method for Manufacturing Atomizing Assembly Thereof

ABSTRACT

An electronic cigarette and a method for manufacturing an atomizing assembly thereof. The electronic cigarette comprises a liquid reservoir used for storing an e-liquid, and an atomizing assembly received in a shell. The atomizing assembly comprises: a liquid-absorbing element connected to the liquid reservoir, wherein the liquid-absorbing element is made of porous ceramic, and has a liquid-absorbing surface for absorbing the e-liquid and an atomizing surface; and a heating element embedded in the liquid-absorbing element, wherein the edge of the heating element is internally tangent to the atomizing surface, and the heating element is used for converting the e-liquid absorbed by the liquid-absorbing element into smoke. The electronic cigarette further comprises a power supply assembly received in the shell, connected to the atomizing assembly, and used for supplying power for the heating element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/004,123, filed Aug. 27, 2020, entitled,“ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ATOMIZING ASSEMBLYTHEREOF”, which is a continuation application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/740,657, filed Dec. 28, 2017 entitled, “ELECTRONIC CIGARETTEAND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ATOMIZING ASSEMBLY THEREOF”, now U.S. Pat.No. 10,791,762 , which itself is a national stage application under 35U.S.C. 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2015/092421 having aninternational filing date of Oct. 21, 2015, the contents of which areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to an electronic cigarette and a methodfor manufacturing an atomizing assembly thereof.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Electronic cigarette, also known as virtual cigarette or electronicatomizers, is a substitute of the cigarette for smoking cessation. Theelectronic cigarette has a similar appearance and taste as thecigarette, but it generally does not contain other harmful ingredientsin the cigarettes, such as tar, suspended particles, and so on.

The electronic cigarette is usually composed of an atomizer and a powersupply assembly. The atomizer is a core unit of the electronic cigarettefor generating an atomizing gas, and its atomization effect determinesthe quality and taste of the smoke. A conventional heating element ofthe atomizer is a spring-like heating wire, which is fabricated bywinding a linear heating wire around a wick. The smoking liquid in theliquid storage device is adsorbed to the wick through both ends of thewick and then heated and atomized by the heating wire. However, theliquid of this type of electronic cigarette is completely absorbed byboth ends of the wick and then atomized. Due to the limited area of theend of the wick, the adsorption efficiency of the liquid is quite low.Therefore, when a high power heating wire is used, there will beinadequate liquid supply to the wick, thus resulting in dry burning aswell as production of a burning smell.

To address the aforementioned inadequate liquid supply issue, theimprovement in the prior art is that the helical heating wire isexternally coated with a liquid guiding structure such as liquid guidingcotton, such that the whole sidewall of the liquid guiding cotton can beused to conduct liquid, thus providing adequate liquid supply. However,this approach suffers from some problems, such as: 1) a popping sound bythe liquid is often produced; and 2) the atomizing efficiency is low,i.e., the amount of atomized smoke is relatively small at the samepower.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is necessary to provide an electronic cigarette with abetter atomizing effect.

An electronic cigarette includes:

a liquid reservoir configured to store liquid;

an atomizing assembly received in the housing, the atomizing assemblycomprising:

-   -   a liquid absorption element connected to the liquid reservoir,        the liquid absorption element being made of porous ceramic, and        the liquid absorption element having a liquid absorption surface        configured to absorb the liquid, and an atomizing surface; and    -   a heating element embedded in an interior of the liquid        absorption element, wherein an edge of the heating element is        internally tangent to the atomizing surface, and the heating        element is configured to atomize the liquid absorbed by the        liquid absorption element into atomized gas; and

a power source assembly received in the housing and connected to theatomizing assembly, the power source assembly being configured toprovide power for the heating element.

A method of manufacturing an atomizing assembly includes:

providing a positioning element, the positioning element comprising apositioning post;

winding a heating element spirally around the positioning post;

placing the positioning post wound with the heating element into a mold,injection molding a first layer of ceramic material on a surface of theheating element and then curing;

removing the positioning post from the cured first layer of ceramicmaterial; and

sintering the cured first layer of ceramic material, thus obtaining aliquid absorption element made of porous ceramic and a heating elementembedded in an interior of the liquid absorption element.

An electronic cigarette includes:

a liquid reservoir received in the housing and configured to storeliquid;

an atomizing assembly received in the housing, the atomizing assemblycomprising:

-   -   a support element defining an atomizing passage therein, the        support element defining two aligned through holes on a sidewall        thereof in communication with the atomizing passage;    -   a liquid absorption element made of porous ceramic, wherein both        ends of the liquid absorption element extend through the through        holes and extend inside the liquid reservoir, the liquid        absorption element having a liquid absorption surface configured        to absorb the liquid and an atomizing surface located inside the        atomizing passage; and    -   a heating element embedded in an interior of the liquid        absorption element, wherein an edge of the heating element is        internally tangent to the atomizing surface, and

a power source assembly received in the housing and connected to theatomizing assembly, the power source assembly being configured toprovide power for the heating element.

Compared with the prior art, the heating element is completely embeddedin an interior of the liquid absorption element, while the liquidabsorption element made of porous ceramic is full of liquid, therefore,the heating element is in complete contact with the liquid and achievesa better atomizing effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent by describing in detail embodiments thereof withreference to the accompanying drawings. The components in the drawingsare not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placedupon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure.Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts throughout the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to afirst embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3A is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an atomizing assemblyaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 3B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an atomizing assemblyaccording to another embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to asecond embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of FIG. 4 ;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to athird embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of FIG. 6 ;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to afourth embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of FIG. 8 ;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to afifth embodiment;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of an atomizing assembly ofFIG. 10 ;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of an electronic cigarette according to asixth embodiment; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the electronic cigarette of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The above and other features of the invention including various noveldetails of construction and combinations of parts, and other advantages,will now be more particularly described with reference to theaccompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims. It will beunderstood that the particular method and device embodying the inventionare shown by way of illustration and not as a limitation of theinvention. The principles and features of this invention may be employedin various and numerous embodiments without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being“connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directlyconnected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may bepresent. In contrast, if an element is referred to as being “directlyconnected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are nointervening elements present. Additionally, the words “herein”, “above”,“below” and words of similar import, when used in this application,shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particularportions of this application.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will befurther understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly useddictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that isconsistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art andwill not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unlessexpressly so defined herein.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , an electronic cigarette 100 inaccordance with a first embodiment includes a housing 120, a mouthpiece140, a liquid reservoir 150, an atomizing assembly 160, and a powersource assembly 180.

The housing 120 is substantially a hollow elongated cylinder. Themouthpiece 140 is located at an end of the housing 120, and theatomizing assembly 160 and the power source 180 are received inside thehousing 120. It is to be understood that, the housing 120 may have othershapes, such as rectangular or the like.

The mouthpiece 140 has thread on its outer periphery, and the mouthpiece140 is threadedly fixed at the top of the housing 120. The mouthpiece140 defines an air outlet 142 at a center thereof. It should beunderstood that, the mouthpiece 140 can be omitted.

The liquid reservoir 150 is substantially a hollow circular tube and ismainly used for storing liquid. The liquid reservoir 150 internallydefines a substantially cylindrical channel 151 along an axial directionthereof. The channel 151 is aligned with the air outlet 142. The liquidreservoir 150 is filled with a storage medium 153 for storing liquid.The storage medium 153 can be made of fibers, preferably modifiedfibers, which can remove the odor of the liquid, so as not to affect thetaste of the smoke.

The atomizing assembly 160 includes a liquid absorption element 164, anda heating element 166.

The liquid absorption element 164 is connected to the liquid reservoir150. In the illustrated embodiment, the liquid absorption element 164 isshaped as a tube matching with the channel 151. Accordingly, the liquidabsorption element 164 can be inserted into the channel 151 of theliquid reservoir 150 and be in direct contact with the storage medium153. The liquid absorption element 164 is made of porous ceramicmaterial with liquid storage and heat-resisting features. Accordingly,the liquid from the storage medium 153 can be uniformly dispersed in theinterior and surface of the liquid absorption element 164 by capillaryaction. The porosity of the porous ceramic forming the liquid absorptionelement 164 is 30% to 60%, preferably 35% to 45%. If the porosity is toohigh, the risk of leakage will be increased; if the porosity is too low,there will be insufficient liquid supply and other issues. The liquidabsorption element 164 defines an internal atomizing passage 165 in anaxial direction in communication with the channel 151. The liquidabsorption element 164 has a liquid absorption surface 1642 contactingthe storage medium 153 and configured to absorb the liquid. In theillustrated embodiment, the liquid absorption surface 1642 is an outercircumferential surface of the liquid absorption element 164. The liquidabsorption element 164 further has an atomizing surface 1652 on thesidewall of the atomizing passage 165.

The heating element 166 is embedded in an interior of the liquidabsorption element 164. In the illustrated embodiment, the heatingelement 166 is a spiral tubular heating wire, and an edge of the heatingelement 166 is internally tangent (aligned) to the atomizing surface1652. The heating element 166 is made of a conductive material, such asflexible metals or alloys, preferably nichrome wire. When the heatingelement 166 is powered, the liquid absorption element 164 can be heatedby the heating element 166, such that the liquid stored inside theliquid absorption element 164 will be uniformly heated and atomized intouniform vapor particles (i.e. smoke). The smoke enters the atomizingpassage 165 through the atomizing surface 1652, and then enters thechannel 151, and finally inhaled by the user via the air outlet 142.

In the conventional electronic cigarette, since the inner surface of thespiral heating wire is not be in direct contact with the liquid, it canonly absorb very few liquid by capillary action or surface tension,which will lead to some problems, such as: a), once the heating wire ispowered, the inner side temperature will rise instantaneously, burstsound will be produced upon in contact with the liquid (because thetemperature of the liquid is low, the inside temperature of the heatingwire is too high); b), during the atomization process, the attachedliquid is too little, which results in a great temperature differencebetween the inner side and the outer side of the spiral heating wire.Since the temperature of the inner side of the heating wire is high,once the liquid is in contact with this hot area, the liquid may becracked or chemical reaction may take place due to the high temperature,an formaldehyde gas may even be produced; c), when drawing by the user,the airflow temperature is higher due to the direct contact of theairflow with the inner side of the heating wire. Meanwhile, the heat onthe inner side of the heating wire is wasted, thus resulting in a loweratomizing efficiency. However, in the illustrated embodiment, theheating element 166 is completely embedded inside the liquid absorptionelement 164, and the liquid absorption element 164 composed by porousceramic is full of liquid, such that the heating element 166 is incomplete contact with the liquid, which brings the following advantages:a), the inner surface and the outer surface of the spiral heating wirehave a uniform temperature distribution; b), there is less waste of theheat; c), there is no or very few liquid crackle sound; d), no or veryfew formaldehyde or other harmful substance will be produced.

Referring to FIG. 3A, in one embodiment, the heating element 166spirally surrounds the atomizing passage 165, and a distance d betweenthe heating element 166 to the atomizing surface 1652 is less than adistance D between the heating element 166 to the liquid absorptionsurface 1642 of the liquid absorption element 164. Therefore, the liquidabsorption surface 1642 of the liquid absorption element 164 composed ofporous ceramic has a lower temperature and does not transfer too muchheat to the liquid in the liquid reservoir 150, thus avoiding thetemperature rise of the liquid which is not atomized. Or else, theenergy is wasted on the one hand, and it is on the other handinconvenient for the user to hold. In an alternative embodiment, athermal conductivity of the liquid absorption element is graduallyreduced from inside to outside along a radial direction, which can alsoreduce the surface temperature of the electronic cigarette.

According to an embodiment, a method of manufacturing an atomizingassembly includes the following steps:

In step one, a positioning element is provided, the positioning elementhas a positioning post.

In step two, a heating element is wound spirally around the positioningpost.

In step three, the positioning post wound with the heating element isplaced into a mold, a first layer of ceramic material is injectionmolded on a surface of the heating element and then cured.

In step four, the positioning post is removed from the cured first layerof ceramic material.

In step five, the cured first layer of ceramic material is sintered,thus a liquid absorption element made of porous ceramic and a heatingelement embedded in an interior of the liquid absorption element areobtained.

According to the foregoing method, the heating wire is sintered andembedded into the liquid absorption element made of porous ceramic,which brings the following advantages: the heating wire can be supportedby the liquid absorption element, such that the diameter thereof can besmaller. In the case of the same resistance value, the smaller thediameter, the shorter the length, therefore, the overall volume will bereduced. This on the one hand can save the materials, and moreimportantly, the components can be miniaturized. The volume of theliquid absorption element wrapping the heating wire can be reduced, thusthe rate of temperature rise of the entire liquid absorption element canbe increased.

Referring to FIG. 3B, in an alternative embodiment, the liquidabsorption element 164 includes a first layer 164 a positionedproximately to the atomizing passage 165 and a second layer 164 bpositioned away from the atomizing passage 165. The first layer 164 aand the second layer 164 b are made of different materials, and thefirst layer 164 a has a higher thermal conductivity than a thermalconductivity of the second layer 164 b. The heating element 166 isembedded in the first layer 164 a of the liquid absorption element 164.This configuration also allows for lowering the temperature of theliquid absorption surface of the liquid absorption element 164, thussaving energy and improving the user experience.

According to an embodiment, a method of manufacturing an atomizingassembly includes the following steps:

In step one, a positioning element is provided, the positioning elementhas a positioning post.

In step two, a heating element is wound spirally around the positioningpost.

In step three, the positioning post with the heating element is placedinto a mold, a first layer of ceramic material is injection molded on asurface of the heating element and then cured.

In step four, a second layer of ceramic material is injected on thesurface of the first layer of ceramic material and then cured. The firstlayer of ceramic material has a higher thermal conductivity than athermal conductivity of the second layer of ceramic material.

In step five, the positioning post is removed from the cured first andsecond layers of ceramic material.

In step six, the cured first and second layers of ceramic material aresintered, thus a liquid absorption element made of porous ceramic and aheating element embedded in an interior of the liquid absorption elementare obtained.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the power source 180 includes an electrode holder184 and a battery (not shown). Both ends of the heating element 166 arecoupled to the electrode holder 184 of the power source 180 via twowires 182. The battery is used for providing power for the heatingelement 166. It is to be understood that, the power source 180 may alsoinclude conventional elements such as a sensor, an indicator, etc.,which are not elaborated herein.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , an electronic cigarette 200 of a secondembodiment has a similar structure as that of the electronic cigarette100 of the first embodiment and includes a housing 220, a mouthpiece240, a liquid reservoir 250, an atomizing assembly 260, and a powersource assembly 280. The differences lie in that: in the illustratedembodiment, the liquid absorption element 264 is shaped substantially asa circular tube that matches with housing 220. The liquid absorptionelement 264 is received in the housing 220 and is located at an end ofthe liquid reservoir 250. The liquid absorption element 264 has a liquidabsorption surface 2642 facing the liquid reservoir 250 and configuredto absorb the liquid. The liquid from the liquid reservoir 250 can beuniformly dispersed in the interior and surface of the liquid absorptionelement 264 via the liquid absorption surface 2642 by capillary action.The liquid absorption element 264 defines an internal atomizing passage265 in an axial direction in communication with the channel 251. Theheating element 266 is a spiral tubular heating wire, which is embeddedin an interior of the liquid absorption element 264. The heating element266 spirally surrounds the atomizing passage 265, and an edge of theheating element 266 is internally tangent (aligned) to the atomizingsurface 2652. Compared with the first embodiment, the liquid absorptionelement 264 of the second embodiment is located at the end of the liquidreservoir 250, thus it can facilitate the installation.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , an electronic cigarette 300 of a thirdembodiment has a similar structure as that of the electronic cigarette200 of the second embodiment and includes a housing 320, a mouthpiece340, a liquid reservoir 350, an atomizing assembly 360, and a powersource assembly 380. The differences lie in that: the electroniccigarette 300 further includes a reservoir cover 37 positioned betweenthe liquid reservoir 350 and the liquid absorption element 364. Thereservoir cover 37 is shaped substantially as a round cover and islocated at an end of the liquid reservoir 350 to seal the liquidreservoir 350. The reservoir cover 37 defines an airflow channel 372 ina middle portion thereof in communication with the channel 351. Thereservoir cover 37 further defines four liquid conduction channels 374evenly distributed around the airflow channel 372. No liquid medium isprovided in the reservoir 350, and the liquid in the liquid reservoir350 can flow into the liquid absorption element 364 via the four liquidconduction channels 374. The liquid absorption element 364 defines aninternal atomizing passage 365 in an axial direction in communicationwith the airflow channel 372. The heating element 366 is a spiraltubular heating wire, which is embedded in an interior of the liquidabsorption element 364. Compared with the second embodiment, the liquidof the third embodiment can flow into the liquid absorption element 364via the liquid conduction channels 374, such that the flow of liquid canbe more accurately controlled. It should be noted that, the number ofthe liquid conduction channels 374 can be three, five or more.

Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 , an electronic cigarette 400 a fourthembodiment is similar to the electronic cigarette 200 of the secondembodiment. The electronic cigarette 400 includes a housing 420, amouthpiece 440, a liquid reservoir 450, an atomizing assembly 460, and apower source assembly 480. The difference lies in that: the atomizingsurface 4642 is an end surface of the liquid absorption element 464 awayfrom the liquid reservoir 450. The heating element 466 is a planarspiral heating wire having Archimedes spiral. The heating element 466 isembedded in an interior of the liquid absorption element 464 and islocated at an end of the liquid absorption element 464 away from theliquid reservoir 450. The heating element 466 spirally surrounds theatomizing passage 465, and an edge of the heating element 466 isinternally tangent (aligned) to the atomizing surface 4642. When theheating element 466 is powered, the liquid absorption element 464 can beheated by the heating element 466 from one end thereof, such that theliquid stored inside the liquid absorption element 464 will be uniformlyheated and atomized into uniform vapor particles (i.e. smoke). The smokeenters the atomizing passage 465 through the atomizing surface 4642, andthen enters the channel 451, and finally inhaled by the user via the airoutlet.

In one embodiment, a method of manufacturing the aforementionedatomizing assembly includes the following steps:

In step one, a positioning element is provided. The positioning elementincludes a positioning surface and a positioning post located on thepositioning surface.

In step two, a heating element being a planar helical heating wire isplaced on the positioning surface and surrounds the positioning post;

In step three, the positioning post with the heating element is placedinto a mold, a first layer of ceramic material is injection molded on asurface of the heating element and then cured;

In step four, the positioning post is removed from the cured first layerof ceramic material;

In step five, the cured first layer of ceramic material is sintered,thus obtaining a liquid absorption element made of porous ceramic and aheating element embedded at an end of the liquid absorption element.

Referring to FIG. 10 , an electronic cigarette 500 in accordance with afifth embodiment includes a housing 510, a liquid reservoir 520, anatomizing assembly 530, and a power source assembly 540. The liquidreservoir 520, the atomizing assembly 530, and the power source assembly540 are received in the housing 510. The power source assembly 540 isconfigured to provide power for the atomizing assembly 530.

The housing 510 has a substantially cylindrical shape, that is, acircular cross section. The housing 510 defines a cavity foraccommodating each internal element of the electronic cigarette 500. Thehousing 510 is made of plastic. In alternative embodiments, the housing510 can have a rectangular or oval cross-section. One end of the housing510 defines an air outlet 512 at an end thereof and an air inlet (notshown) at the other end thereof. The housing 510 has a hollow structure.The housing 510 can be provided with a filter nozzle at the end thereofadjacent to the air outlet 512 for filtering nicotine and nicotinamidein the smoke.

The liquid reservoir 520 is received in the housing 510 and sleeved onthe outside of the atomizing assembly 530. In the illustratedembodiment, the liquid reservoir 520 has a cylindrical shape and definesa channel 521 along an axial direction in a middle portion thereof,which is in communication with the air inlet and the air outlet 512. Theliquid reservoir 520 is internally filled with a liquid storage medium522 for storing liquid. The liquid storage medium 522 can be made ofliquid absorbent materials, such as fiber, foam, sponge, foam ceramic,soft rubber or silicon. The material forming the liquid reservoir 520may have elasticity, such that during assembly, the liquid reservoir 520may be in sufficient contact with the surface of the atomizing assembly530 by an external force such as pressing. According to the principle ofconcentration balance, the liquid stored in the liquid reservoir 520 canbe delivered to the atomizing assembly 530 with liquid absorbingcapability.

The atomizing assembly 530 is received in the housing 510. The atomizingassembly 530 includes a support element 532, a liquid absorption element533, and a heating element 534. The liquid absorption element 533 isdisposed on the support element 532 and extends through the supportelement 532.

The support element 532 has a hollow cylindrical structure and isreceived in the channel 521. The support element 532 defines anatomizing passage 536 therein in communication with the channel 521 toallow the gas to flow through. The support element 532 further definestwo aligned through holes 538 on a middle portion of the sidewallthereof, the two through holes 538 are used to support and fix theliquid absorption element 533. The through holes 538 are incommunication with the atomizing passage 536. It should be understoodthat, the number of the through holes 538 can be one or more than two.

Referring to FIG. 11 , the liquid absorption element 533 is shapedsubstantially as a solid cylinder that matches with the through holes538. Accordingly, both ends of the liquid absorption element 533 canextend through the through holes 538 of the support element 532,respectively, therefore the liquid absorption element 533 can extendinside the liquid reservoir 520 to be in direct contact with the liquidstorage medium 522. A middle portion of the liquid absorption element533 is positioned inside the atomizing passage 536, and the liquidabsorption element 533 has an atomizing surface 5332 within theatomizing passage 536. The liquid absorption element 533 can be made ofa porous ceramic material with liquid storage capability and hightemperature resistance. In the illustrated embodiment, the liquidabsorption surface of the liquid absorption element 533 are at both endsof the liquid absorption element 533, which include both end surfacesand partial outer circumferential surface.

The heating element 534 is a spiral tubular heating wire embedded in aninterior of the liquid absorption element 533, and the heating wirehelically surrounds an axis of the liquid absorption element 533. In theillustrated embodiment, an edge of the heating element 534 is internallytangent (aligned) to the atomizing surface 5332. The heating element 534is made of a conductive material, such as flexible metals or alloys,preferably nichrome wire. When the heating element 534 is powered, theliquid absorption element 533 can be heated by the heating element 534,such that the liquid stored inside the liquid absorption element 533will be uniformly heated and atomized into uniform vapor particles (i.e.smoke). The smoke enters the atomizing passage 536 through the atomizingsurface 5332, and then enters the channel 521, and finally inhaled bythe user via the air outlet 512.

Referring to FIG. 10 , the power source assembly 540 is electricallycoupled to the heating element 534, so as to provide power for theheating element 534. In the illustrated embodiment, the power supplyassembly 540 includes an electrode 542, a conductive wire 544, anelectrode holder 546, and a battery (not shown). The electrode 542 iselectrically coupled to the heating element 534 through the conductivewire 544. The electrode 542 is fixed on the electrode holder 546. Theelectrode holder 546 defines an air intake 548 to allow the air to passthrough. In an alternative embodiment, the electrode holder 546 can beomitted.

Referring to FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 , an electronic cigarette 600 accordingto a sixth embodiment has a similar structure as that of the electroniccigarette 500 of the fifth embodiment and includes a housing 610, aliquid reservoir 620, an atomizing assembly 630, and a power sourceassembly 640. The difference lies in that:

(1) No storage medium is filled in the liquid reservoir 620, and theliquid is directly stored in the liquid reservoir 620.

(2) The liquid absorption element 633 is located at a position of thesupport element 632 adjacent to the power source assembly 640.

(3) The liquid absorption element 633 has a tubular tube shape andaxially defines a liquid passage 635 therein. The atomizing surface isan outer circumferential surface of the liquid absorption element 633,and the liquid absorption surface is an inner circumferential surface ofthe liquid absorption element 633, i.e., the liquid absorption surfaceis a sidewall of the liquid passage 635.

The liquid absorption element 533 of the fifth embodiment absorbs andstores liquid in the liquid storage medium 522 mainly through two endsthereof, thus the liquid conduction rate may be relatively slow. Theliquid reservoir 620 of the sixth embodiment directly contains theliquid, and the atomizing assembly 630 is positioned downwardly, and theliquid passage 634 is axially defined in the liquid absorption element633, such that the contact area with the liquid is increased, thusincreasing the liquid conduction rate.

Although the respective embodiments have been described one by one, itshall be appreciated that the respective embodiments will not beisolated. Those skilled in the art can apparently appreciate uponreading the disclosure of this application that the respective technicalfeatures involved in the respective embodiments can be combinedarbitrarily between the respective embodiments as long as they have nocollision with each other. Of course, the respective technical featuresmentioned in the same embodiment can also be combined arbitrarily aslong as they have no collision with each other.

It should be noted that, the configuration how the liquid absorptionsurface for absorbing liquid and the atomizing surface for the heatingelement are positioned on the liquid absorption element are not limitedhereto. The number of the liquid absorption surfaces may be one or more,and the number of the atomizing surfaces may also be one or more.

Although the description is illustrated and described herein withreference to certain embodiments, the description is not intended to belimited to the details shown. Modifications may be made in the detailswithin the scope and range equivalents of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of manufacturing an atomizing assembly,comprising: providing a positioning element, the positioning elementcomprising a positioning post; winding a heating element spirally aroundthe positioning post; placing the positioning post wound with theheating element into a mold, injection molding a first layer of ceramicmaterial on a surface of the heating element and then curing; removingthe positioning post from the cured first layer of ceramic material; andsintering the cured first layer of ceramic material, thus obtaining aliquid absorption element made of porous ceramic and a heating elementembedded in an interior of the liquid absorption element.
 2. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the liquid absorption element has atubular shape, the liquid absorption element defines an atomizingpassage therein, the atomizing surface is a sidewall of the atomizingpassage, and the heating element is a spiral tubular heating wire, whichspirally surrounds the atomizing passage.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein a distance between the heating wire to the atomizingsurface is less than a distance between the heating wire to the liquidabsorption surface of the liquid absorption element.
 4. The methodaccording to claim 2, wherein a thermal conductivity of the liquidabsorption element is gradually reduced from inside to outside along aradial direction.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the porousceramic has a porosity of 30% to 60%.
 6. The method according to claim1, wherein after injecting the first layer of ceramic material on thesurface of the heating element, the method further comprises: injectionmolding a second layer of ceramic material on the surface of the firstlayer of ceramic material, wherein the first layer of ceramic materialhas a higher thermal conductivity than a thermal conductivity of thesecond layer of ceramic material.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the positioning element further comprises a positioning surface,the positioning post is located on the positioning surface, the heatingelement is a planar helical heating wire placed on the positioningsurface and surrounding the positioning post.
 8. A method ofmanufacturing an atomizing assembly, comprising: providing a positioningelement, the positioning element comprising a positioning post; windinga heating element spirally around the positioning post; placing thepositioning post wound with the heating element into a mold, injectionmolding a first layer of ceramic material on a surface of the heatingelement and then curing; injection molding a second layer of ceramicmaterial on a surface of the first layer of ceramic material and thencuring, wherein the first layer of ceramic material has a higher thermalconductivity than a thermal conductivity of the second layer of ceramicmaterial; removing the positioning post from the cured first layer ofceramic material; and sintering the cured first and second layers ofceramic material, thus obtaining a liquid absorption element made ofporous ceramic and a heating element embedded in an interior of theliquid absorption element.
 9. The method according to claim 8, whereinthe liquid absorption element has a tubular shape, the liquid absorptionelement defines an atomizing passage therein, the atomizing surface is asidewall of the atomizing passage, and the heating element is a spiraltubular heating wire, which spirally surrounds the atomizing passage.10. The method according to claim 9, wherein a distance between theheating wire to the atomizing surface is less than a distance betweenthe heating wire to the liquid absorption surface of the liquidabsorption element.
 11. The method according to claim 9, wherein theliquid absorption element comprises a first layer proximately to theatomizing passage and a second layer away from the atomizing passage,the first layer has a higher thermal conductivity than a thermalconductivity of the second layer, the heating element is embedded in thefirst layer of the liquid absorption element.
 12. The method accordingto claim 8, wherein the porous ceramic has a porosity of 30% to 60%. 13.A method of manufacturing an atomizing assembly, comprising: providing apositioning element, the positioning element comprising a positioningsurface and a positioning post located on the positioning surface.placing a heating element being a planar helical heating wire on thepositioning surface and surrounds the positioning post; placing thepositioning post with the heating element into a mold, injection moldinga first layer of ceramic material on a surface of the heating elementand then curing; removing the positioning post from the cured firstlayer of ceramic material; and sintering the cured first layer ofceramic material, thus obtaining a liquid absorption element made ofporous ceramic and a heating element embedded in an end of the liquidabsorption element.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein theporous ceramic has a porosity of 30% to 60%.